AUBURN, Calif. — David Waters was a troubled teen in this former Gold Rush town before he found some direction in life by enlisting in the military early last year.

The 19-year-old soldier was killed Thursday in Baghdad when an explosive device detonated near his convoy vehicle, the Department of Defense said Saturday. Waters was assigned to the Army’s 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, N.Y.

Waters last returned home in September last year to mourn the death of his mother, Susan Waters, whose body was found behind some bushes in downtown Auburn, about 30 miles northeast of Sacramento. Auburn police say her killer has not been found.

“It’s been so heartbreaking,” said Debbie Waters, of Visalia, whose husband is David Waters’ cousin, speaking to the Sacramento Bee. “David had been a troubled youngster in high school. I can recall at his mom’s funeral last year, David was in his uniform and said, ‘I know my mom would be so proud to see how I’ve turned out.”’

David Waters’ aunt, Patricia Work of West Sacramento, said 42-year-old Susan Waters and her son struggled.

“David was in and out of trouble — his background wasn’t the best,” Work said. “But then he joined the service, and oh, he was so handsome in that uniform and he was so proud to be in it.”

Waters attended E.V. Cain Middle School and Placer High School in Auburn before joining the Army. Auburn Police Officer Dan Coe was a school resource officer when Waters was in school.

“He seemed to have really squared himself away in the military,” Coe said. “He was trying to make something of himself.”